JP5922077B2 - Image forming apparatus and image forming system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that performs printing on a sheet provided with an index label (hereinafter referred to as “index sheet”).

  According to recent technology, an image forming apparatus that is a printer, a multifunction printer, a multifunction peripheral device, or a multifunction peripheral has a function of printing on index sheets. The index paper is a paper in which an index label is provided on a standard size paper such as A4 size or letter size. Since the index label is outside the standard size range and is different in size and position in this way, when the user prints on the index paper, the print paper size can be set to any size including the index label on the standard size document ( In the following, a print request is made with “custom size” set. At this time, if the user forgets to set the index paper in the paper feed cassette and makes a print request, only the original image is printed on the standard size paper, and the index label image cannot be printed. As a countermeasure, an image forming apparatus capable of automatically selecting a paper feed cassette in which index paper is set is provided. For example, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, when executing a print job for printing an image on an index sheet, an index sheet on which an image and an index position can be printed as specified is selected from a sheet tray (paper feed cassette). When an appropriate index sheet cannot be selected, printing is interrupted and printing is not performed until an appropriate index sheet is set on the sheet tray. As described above, since printing can be interrupted when an appropriate index sheet cannot be selected, useless printing can be prevented.

JP 2003-327339 A

  However, when printing in the conventional custom size, the user must set the custom size one by one, and if it is accompanied by index label printing, it is necessary to make settings that are easy to make mistakes such as index label alignment. If you made a mistake, it was easy to cause a paper jam. In particular, when performing double-sided printing, the difficulty increases and paper jam easily occurs, making it difficult to perform double-sided printing practically.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of solving the above-described problems.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus capable of setting a custom size or a standard size,
Index paper setting means for setting information of index paper provided with an index label ;
A paper feeding means for feeding the index paper;
Fixing means for fixing toner ;
Print engine control means for switching to the custom size or the standard size according to the setting of the index paper setting means;
Control means for issuing a control command for switching control to the custom size or the standard size to the print engine control means;
Print execution means for printing on the index sheet ;
Equipped with a,
The control means includes
Determining the presence or absence of an image of the index label on the index sheet based on the index sheet information set by the index sheet setting means;
When there is no image on the index label, the fixing size of the fixing unit is determined as the standard size,
When there is an image on the index label, the index label is provided on a side positioned laterally with respect to the transport direction of the index paper, or a side on which the index label is positioned in the transport direction of the index paper To determine whether
When the index label is provided on a side located in a direction transverse to the conveyance direction of the index paper, the fixing size is determined as the custom size as the fixing custom size, and further, the paper interval of the paper feeding unit Is determined as the standard size,
When the index label is provided on a side located in the conveyance direction of the index sheet, the fixing size is determined as the standard size, and whether the sheet interval of the sheet feeding unit is insufficient. Is determined based on the index label size included in the index sheet information set by the index sheet setting unit, and when the sheet interval is insufficient, the sheet interval of the sheet feeding unit is set to the custom size as the transport direction custom size. determined, when not become insufficient sheet spacing features that you determine the sheet interval of the feeding means to the standard size.
Further, an index label setting unit capable of setting the information of the index label is provided.
The image forming system of the present invention sets index sheet information in an image forming system in which the image forming apparatus described above and a peripheral device equipped with the printer driver of the image forming apparatus are coupled via a network. An index sheet setting unit is provided in the peripheral device, and a print request for the index sheet is transmitted from the peripheral device to the image forming apparatus via the network.
Further, the image forming system is characterized in that an index label setting unit capable of setting index label information is provided in the peripheral device.

  The present invention prevents the toner from being insufficiently fixed or jammed by allowing the user to appropriately set the information of the index paper and the index label when printing the index paper. Provided is an image forming apparatus capable of performing printing without limiting a process that is likely to cause a paper jam.

1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the index paper setting screen which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and an index label setting screen. 6 is a flowchart illustrating index sheet printing processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings. An image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is an image forming apparatus that forms an image such as a printer, a multifunction printer, a multifunction peripheral device, or a multifunction peripheral. Referring to FIG. A unit 3, a main body unit 4, and an operation unit 5 are provided. The document reading unit 2 is disposed on the top of the main body unit 4, and the document feeding unit 3 is disposed on the top of the document reading unit 2.

  On the front side of the image forming apparatus 1, an operation unit 5 for setting and operating instructions of the image forming apparatus 1 is disposed. The operation unit 5 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 51 and operation buttons 52. The user operates the operation unit 5 to input an instruction, thereby performing various settings of the image forming apparatus 1 and executing various functions such as image formation. The liquid crystal display unit 51 displays the state of the image forming apparatus 1, displays the image forming status and the number of copies, and can be used as a touch panel to perform various settings such as functions such as double-sided printing and black-and-white reversal, magnification setting, and density setting. It has become. The operation buttons 52 include a start button for instructing start of image formation, a stop / clear button for instructing to stop image formation, a reset button used when various settings of the image forming apparatus 1 are set to a default state, a numeric keypad, and the like. Is provided.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the document reading unit 2 includes a scanner 21, a platen glass 22, and a document reading slit 23. The scanner 21 includes a light source 24 using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) and a light receiving unit 25 including a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) line sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) line sensor, and the like. The unit 3 is configured to be movable in the conveyance direction of the document MS (manuscript). The document reading slit 23 is a slit formed in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the document MS by the document feeding unit 3.

  The document feeding unit 3 includes a document placement unit 31, a document discharge unit 32, and a document transport mechanism 33. The document MS set on the document placement unit 31 is sequentially fed out one by one by the document transport mechanism 33, transported to a position facing the document reading slit 23, and then discharged to the document discharge unit 32. The document feeding unit 3 and the document reading unit 2 are connected to each other by a hinge mechanism on the back side of the image forming apparatus 1, and the document feeding unit 3 functions as a platen cover that opens and closes the upper surface of the platen glass 22. . By opening the document feeder 3 upward, the upper surface of the platen glass 22 is opened, and the document MS can be set on the platen glass 22.

  When reading of the document MS is instructed by the operation button 52 of the operation unit 5 in a state where the document MS is not set on the document placement unit 31 or in an opened state where the document feeding unit 3 (platen cover) is opened. A document MS set on the platen glass 22 is read. When reading the document MS placed on the platen glass 22, the scanner 21 is moved to a position facing the platen glass 22, and the document MS set on the platen glass 22 is moved in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The image data is obtained by scanning while scanning from the sub-scanning direction reference line B, and the obtained image data is output to the control unit 7 (FIG. 3) in the main body unit 4.

  When reading of the document MS is instructed by the operation button 52 of the operation unit 5 in a state where the document MS is set on the document placement unit 31, the document MS conveyed by the document feeding unit 3 is read. The document MS is set on the document placement unit 31 with the front surface (surface from which a document image is read) facing up. Then, the document MS set on the document placement unit 31 is conveyed from the left side by the document feeding unit 3, and the surface of the document MS is guided to a position facing the document reading slit 23. Further, when reading the document MS conveyed by the document feeding unit 3, the scanner 21 is moved to a position facing the document reading slit 23 and is synchronized with the conveying operation by the document feeding unit 3 via the document reading slit 23. Then, the original MS is read to acquire image data, and the acquired image data is output to the control unit 7 (FIG. 3) in the main body unit 4.

  The main body 4 includes a recording unit 6, and includes a paper feed unit 41, a paper feed roller 42, a paper transport path 43, a registration roller 44, and a discharge roller 45. The paper feed unit 41 is a paper feed cassette that stores a plurality of sheets of paper P, and the paper feed roller 42 feeds the paper P from the paper feed unit 41 to the paper transport path 43 one by one. The paper P that has been fed to the paper transport path 43 by the paper feed roller 42 is transported to the recording unit 6 by the registration roller 44. The registration roller 44 conveys the paper P so that the leading edge of the paper P supplied from the paper feed cassette and the leading edge of the image read from the document are aligned. The paper P on which recording has been performed by the recording unit 6 is discharged by a discharge roller 45 into a discharge space 46 formed between the document reading unit 2 and the main body unit 4. As described above, the paper feed roller 42, the registration roller 44, and the discharge roller 45 function as a conveyance unit for the paper P.

  The recording unit 6 includes a photosensitive drum 61, a charging unit 62, an exposure unit 63, an image forming unit 64, a transfer unit 65, a fixing unit 66, and a cleaning unit 67. The exposure unit 63 is an optical unit including a laser device, a mirror, and the like. The exposure unit 63 outputs a laser beam based on image data to the photosensitive drum 61 uniformly charged by the charging unit 62 and exposes the photosensitive drum 61. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the drum 61. The image forming unit 64 is a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 61 using toner, and forms a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 61. The transfer unit 65 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 61 by the image forming unit 64 to the paper P. The fixing unit 66 heats the paper P on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 65 to fix the toner image on the paper P. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 61 is removed by the cleaning unit 67.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. The document reading unit 2, document feeding unit 3, transport unit (feed roller 42, registration roller 44, discharge roller 45), operation unit 5, recording unit 6, storage unit 8, and communication unit 9 are the control unit 7. And the operation is controlled by the control unit 7. The control unit 7 includes a print engine control processing unit 71 and a print execution processing unit 72.

  The control unit 7 is an information processing unit such as a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The ROM stores a control program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control unit 7 reads out a control program stored in the ROM and develops the control program in the RAM, thereby controlling the entire apparatus according to predetermined instruction information input from the operation unit 5. The print engine control processing unit 71 controls the print engine included in the image forming apparatus 1 according to a command from the control unit 7. The print execution processing unit 72 executes a printing operation according to a command from the control unit 7.

  The storage unit 8 is a storage unit such as a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores image data of the document MS read by the scanner 21 as well as various management information and setting information. .

  The communication unit 9 has a function of transmitting / receiving various data to / from a peripheral device 11 such as a PC (personal computer) and another image forming apparatus 1a via a network 10 such as a LAN. The communication unit 9 is configured to be connectable to the Internet 13 via the network 10 and the router 12. The communication unit 9 has a function of transmitting / receiving various data to / from various communication devices connected to the Internet 13.

  Next, an index sheet setting screen 80 for setting index sheet information set by the user when printing index sheets and an index label setting screen 90 for setting index label information will be described with reference to FIG. .

  The index sheet setting screen 80 shown in FIG. 4A is for setting “number of index labels” 81, “print size” 82, “index label interval” 83, “index label size” 84, and “index label image presence / absence” 85. And an “OK” button 86 and a “Cancel” button 87.

  “Number of index labels” 81 is a setting column for setting the number of index labels of index sheets in continuous printing. When printing is not continuous printing (hereinafter referred to as “single printing”), “1” is set in the “number of index labels” 81.

  “Print size” 82 is a setting field for setting the print paper size (hereinafter referred to as “print paper size”) excluding the index label and the side (long side or short side) where the index label is provided. is there. For example, when the printing paper size is A4 and an index label is provided on the long side of A4, “A4 long side” is set.

  The “index label interval” 83 is a setting field for setting index labels provided at different positions on the index paper for continuous printing or single printing, and “interval from the leading edge to the first index label” 83a, “index” A setting field for setting an “interval between labels” 83b and an “interval from the end to the last index label” 83c is provided. In the case of single printing, since there is one index label, “0” is set in “interval between index labels” 83b.

  The “index label size” 84 is a setting field for setting the size of the index label, and a setting field for setting the “height” 84a of the index label protruding from the standard size printing paper is provided. In the index sheet setting screen 80 shown in FIG. 4A, the width of the index label is fixed at 47.4 mm by default, but the setting can be changed for this value.

  “Index label image presence / absence” 85 is a setting field for setting whether or not there is an image to be printed on the index label.

  The “OK” button 86 is a button that is pressed when the setting value in the setting field is stored in the storage unit 8. When the “OK” button 86 is pressed, the setting values of the index sheet setting screen 80 are stored in the storage unit 8 and the index sheet setting screen 80 is deleted.

  The “cancel” button 87 is a button that is pressed when canceling the setting value on the index sheet setting screen 80. When the “Cancel” button 87 is pressed, the setting value set in the index sheet setting screen 80 is canceled and the previous setting value is restored.

  The index label setting screen 90 shown in FIG. 4B includes setting items of “format” 91, “layout” 92, “index label image” 93, “OK” button 94, and “cancel” button 95. .

  “Format” 91 is a setting field for setting a character format to be printed on the index label, and a setting field for setting “font” 91a, “style” 91b, “color” 91c, and “size” 91d of the character. Is provided.

  The “layout” 92 is a setting field for setting the arrangement of characters to be printed on the index label. The “direction” 92a of the character, the “relative position of the index label” 92b, the “interval to the standard size end” 92c, and “ A setting field for setting an “interval to the end of the index label” 92d is provided. “Orientation” 92a sets the orientation of characters printed on the index label. “Inward” is set when the upper side of the character is directed toward the center side of the index sheet, and “outward” is set when the upper side of the character is directed in the direction opposite to the center side of the index sheet. “Relative position of index label” 92b sets the left and right positions of characters printed on the index label. “Left” is set when the character is aligned with the left side of the index label, “middle” is set when the character is positioned in the middle of the index label, and “right” is set when the character is aligned with the right side of the index label. The “interval to the standard size end” 92c and the “interval to the end of the index label” 92d set the vertical position of the character. The “space to the standard size edge” 92c sets the space to the standard size edge inside the character and the index sheet. The “interval to the end of the index label” 92d sets the interval between the character and the outer end of the index label. Either “space to standard size edge” 92c or “space to index label edge” 92d is set.

  The “index label image” 93 is a setting field for setting characters of an image to be printed on the index label. In the case of continuous printing, an image can be printed on the index label of the index sheet by setting the image in the “index label image” 93 in the order of printing the index label.

  The “OK” button 94 is a button that is pressed when the setting value in the setting field is stored in the storage unit 8. When the “OK” button 94 is pressed, the setting value of the index label setting screen 90 is stored in the storage unit 8 and the index label setting screen 90 is deleted.

  The “cancel” button 95 is a button that is pressed when canceling the setting of the index label setting screen 90. When the “Cancel” button 95 is pressed, the setting on the index label setting screen 90 is canceled and the previous setting is restored.

  Next, index sheet printing processing in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, the user displays the index sheet setting screen 80 on the touch panel of the liquid crystal display unit 51, and “number of index labels” 81, “print size” 82, “index label interval” 83, “index label size” 84, and “index”. “Label image presence / absence” 85 is set, and an “OK” button 86 is pressed. When the user sets “present” in “index label image presence / absence” 85, an index label setting screen 90 is displayed on the touch panel of the liquid crystal display unit 51, and “format” 91, “layout” 92, and “index label image” are displayed. "93" is set and the "OK" button 94 is pressed. Next, when the user sets the document MS on the document placement unit 31, sets the index sheet P on the sheet feeding unit 41, and starts printing the index sheet by the operation button 52, the control unit 7 prints the index sheet. Processing begins.

(Step S101)
First, the control unit 7 takes out the setting values of the index sheet setting screen 80 and the index label setting screen 90 stored in the storage unit 8.

(Step S102)
Next, the control unit 7 determines whether “present” is set in the “index label image presence / absence” 85 of the index sheet setting screen 80. If “present” is set in “index label image presence / absence” 85 (Yes in step S102), the process proceeds to step S103. When “None” is set in “Index label image presence / absence” 85 (No in step S102), the process proceeds to step S104.

(Step S103)
In step S102, the control unit 7 determines that the index label is positioned in the transport direction of the index sheet from the side where the print sheet size of “print size” 82 and the index label are provided because the index label also has an image. If the index label is provided on a side that is transverse to the transport direction, the index label is placed in the transport direction. On the other hand, the fixing size of the fixing unit 66 which is the horizontal size is determined as a custom size. Then, the control unit 7 outputs to the print engine control processing unit 71 a command to fix the toner with the custom size determined by the fixing unit 66.

(Step S104)
In step S102 No, since there is no image on the index label, the control unit 7 outputs to the print engine control processing unit 71 a command to cause the fixing unit 66 to fix the toner with a printing paper size of “print size” 82 which is a standard size. To do.

(Step S105)
Next, the control unit 7 sets the index label of the index paper P on the side where the print paper size and the index label of the “print size” 82 on the index paper setting screen 80 are located in the transport direction. Sometimes, when the index paper P is transported at intervals of the print paper size of “print size” 82, an interval that interferes with the transport of the previous index paper P or an interval having a small margin (hereinafter referred to as “paper interval shortage”). This is determined by “index label size” 84. When the paper interval between the previous index paper P is insufficient (Yes in step S105), the process proceeds to step S106. If there is no shortage between the previous index sheet P and the sheet (No in step S105), the process proceeds to step S107.

(Step S106)
In step S <b> 106, the control unit 7 determines the paper interval of the paper feed roller 42 based on the print paper size set in the “print size” 82, the side where the index label is provided, and the “index label size” 84. Determine custom size. Then, the control unit 7 outputs to the print engine control processing unit 71 a command for the paper feed roller 42 to feed the index paper P from the paper feed unit 41 to the paper transport path 43 one by one at a custom size paper interval.

(Step S107)
In step S <b> 106 No, the control unit 7 causes the sheet feeding roller 42 to feed the index sheet P from the sheet feeding unit 41 to the sheet transport path 43 one by one at a sheet interval of the printing sheet size of the standard size “print size” 82. A command to be fed is output to the print engine control processing unit 71.

(Step S108)
Next, the control unit 7 activates the print execution processing unit 72 and outputs the setting values of the index sheet setting screen 80 and the index label setting screen 90 extracted in step S101 to the print execution processing unit 72. The print execution processing unit 72 reads the document MS from the document reading unit 2 and prints the document MS on the index paper P. When “present” is set in the “index label image presence / absence” 85, the index label image is displayed on the index label. Print.

  As described above, when printing on the index sheet, the user can appropriately set the index sheet information using the index sheet setting screen 80, and can appropriately set the index label information using the index label setting screen 90. can do. Then, only when “present” is set in “index label image presence / absence” 85 of the index sheet setting screen 80, toner fixing is performed in a wide range of custom sizes, and “none” is displayed in “index label image presence / absence” 85. When set, the toner is fixed in the normal range of the standard size. By controlling the print engine in this way, insufficient toner fixing can be prevented. Also, when the next index paper P is fed, the custom paper wide paper space only when the paper space becomes insufficient from the setting values of “index label space” 83 and “index label size” 84 on the index paper setting screen 80. When the next index sheet P is fed, if the sheet interval does not become insufficient, the sheet is fed at regular sheet intervals of standard size. By controlling the print engine in this way, paper jams can be prevented and the printing speed can be increased.

  In the above embodiment, the user displays the index sheet setting screen 80 and the index label setting screen 90 on the touch panel of the liquid crystal display unit 51 to set the setting values. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the print driver of the image forming apparatus 1 is mounted on the peripheral device 11 such as a PC shown in FIG. 3, the setting items of the index paper setting screen 80 and the index label setting screen 90 are set from the peripheral device 11, and the index paper is printed. It is also possible to send the request to the image forming apparatus 1.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed unit 41 is illustrated as having a single paper feed cassette. However, this is an example, and the paper feed unit 41 includes a plurality of paper sizes of different sizes. A paper cassette can be installed.

  Further, the print engine control processing unit 71 controls the fixing unit 66 to fix the toner with a custom size or a standard size, and the paper feed roller 42 uses the custom size or the standard size to feed the index paper P from the paper feed unit 41 one by one. Although the timing of feeding to 43 is controlled, the present invention is not limited to this. The print engine control processing unit 71 can perform control by setting a custom size or control by setting a standard size for the operation of all devices that can be switched to a custom size or a standard size.

  In such an image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the index sheet is printed, the information of the index sheet and the index label can be appropriately set by the user, so that insufficient toner fixing and paper jam are prevented. Even a process such as printing that is likely to cause a paper jam can be printed without restriction.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by specific embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that the said embodiment is an illustration of this invention and is not limited to this embodiment.

  The present invention is suitable for an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus, and can be applied to a general apparatus including an apparatus and a process for discharging or conveying index sheets.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus 1a ... Image forming apparatus 2 ... Document reading part 3 ... Document feeding part 4 ... Main-body part 5 ...・ Operating section 6 ... Recording section 7 ... Control section 8 ... Storage section 9 ... Communication section 10 ... Network 11 ... Peripheral equipment 12 ... Router 13 ... Internet 21 ... Scanner 22 ... Platen glass 23 ... Original reading slit 24 ... Light source 25 ...・ Light receiving unit 31... Document placing unit 32... Document ejecting unit 33... Document transport mechanism 41. ····················································································· 44 ... Liquid crystal display part 52 ... Operation buttons 61 ... Photosensitive drum 62 ... Charging part 63 ... Exposure part 64 ... Image forming part 65. ··· Transfer portion 66 ··· Fixing portion 67 ··· Cleaning portion 71 ··· Print engine control processing portion 72 ··· Print execution processing portion 80 ··· Index Paper setting screen 81 Setting item "Number of index labels"
82: Setting item “Print Size”
83 ... Setting item "Index label interval"
83a ... Setting item "Distance from tip to first index label"
83b... Setting item "interval between index labels"
83c... Setting item "Interval from end to last index label"
84 ... Setting item "Index label size"
84a ... Setting item "Height"
85: Setting item "Presence / absence of index label image"
86 ... Setting item "OK" button 87 ... Setting item "Cancel" button 90 ... Index label setting screen 91 ... Setting item "Format"
91a ... Setting item "Font"
91b .... Setting item "Style"
91c... Setting item "color"
91d: Setting item “size”
92 ... Setting item "Layout"
92a ... Setting item "Direction"
92b... Setting item “Relative position of index label”
92c ··· Setting item "Distance to standard size end"
92d... Setting item “Interval to index label edge”
93 ... Setting item "Index label image"
94 …… “OK” button 95 …… “Cancel” button

Claims (4)

An image forming apparatus capable of setting a custom size or a standard size,
Index paper setting means for setting information of index paper provided with an index label ;
A paper feeding means for feeding the index paper;
Fixing means for fixing toner ;
Print engine control means for switching to the custom size or the standard size according to the setting of the index paper setting means;
Control means for issuing a control command for switching control to the custom size or the standard size to the print engine control means;
Print execution means for printing on the index sheet ;
Equipped with a,
The control means includes
Determining the presence or absence of an image of the index label on the index sheet based on the index sheet information set by the index sheet setting means;
When there is no image on the index label, the fixing size of the fixing unit is determined as the standard size,
When there is an image on the index label, the index label is provided on a side positioned laterally with respect to the transport direction of the index paper, or a side on which the index label is positioned in the transport direction of the index paper To determine whether
When the index label is provided on a side located in a direction transverse to the conveyance direction of the index paper, the fixing size is determined as the custom size as the fixing custom size, and further, the paper interval of the paper feeding unit Is determined as the standard size,
When the index label is provided on a side located in the conveyance direction of the index sheet, the fixing size is determined as the standard size, and whether the sheet interval of the sheet feeding unit is insufficient. Is determined based on the index label size included in the index sheet information set by the index sheet setting unit, and when the sheet interval is insufficient, the sheet interval of the sheet feeding unit is set to the custom size as the transport direction custom size. determined, the image forming apparatus characterized by that determine a sheet interval of the feeding means to the standard size when not become insufficient sheet interval. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an index label setting unit configured to set information of the index label. In the image forming system in which the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 and a peripheral device mounted with a printer driver of the image forming apparatus are coupled via a network,
Index sheet setting means capable of setting index sheet information is provided in the peripheral device, and a print request for the index sheet is transmitted from the peripheral device to the image forming apparatus via the network. system. The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein an index label setting unit capable of setting index label information is provided in the peripheral device.

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